China: Hybrid, driverless train runs on virtual rails

Jun 07, 2017, 11:47 AM EDT

(Source: Sjors Provoost/flickr)

China has unveiled the world’s first rail-less, driverless train that’s loaded with powerful sensors for reading the dimensions of road and planning its own route as it sticks to a pair of white lines painted on the tracks.

The train, named Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit (ART), has been developed by Chinese rail provider CRRC, to improve public transit in Zhuzhou, a medium-sized city with too limited resources to afford high installation costs of rail system, notes Design Boom.

The 30 meters long bus-train hybrid runs on electricity and can touch a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour with the capacity of nearly 500 passengers, writes Voice of America.